Around Burlington: Bar fights were part of boats' business model

The bar on the steamboat Iowa City was an especially lively place in September 1866 as the boat maneuvered for the levee at Burlington. Passengers crowded the rails and waved to the crowd on shore, but suddenly this happy moment was shattered.

The cause of the mood swing was Missourian John Taddock, who had been holed up in the boat's bar and deeply involved with a bottle of Kentucky whiskey while expressing his unvarnished opinion of northerners in general and Iowans in particular. Taddock's sharing of these thoughts had so impressed his fellow drinkers, they banded together and began to beat the heck out of him.

Email this to a friend!

Subject:

To: (recipient's email address)

From: (your email address)

Validation Key:

Enter validation key:

Facebook Commenting Guidelines on The Hawk Eye:

1. Comments from users that have private profiles are blocked by Facebook.
2. Comments containing words in Facebook's blacklist will be held for moderation.
3. Threaded comments on a comment held for moderation will not appear online.